BACKGROUND Research on the potentially adverse effects of occupational pesticide exposure on risk of spontaneous abortion (SAB) is limited, particularly among female agricultural workers residing in developing countries. METHODS Reproductive histories were obtained from 217 Ecuadorian mothers participating in a study focusing on occupational pesticide exposure and children's neurobehavioral d...

Camellia japonica L. is an evergreen shrub whose cultivars are of great ornamental value. In autumn, after flower bud differentiation, dormancy is initiated. As in many other spring flowering woody ornamentals, winter low temperatures promote dormancy release of both flower and vegetative buds. However, warm spells during late autumn and winter can lead to unfulfilled chilling requirements lead...

Flower induction in apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) is regulated by complex gene networks that involve multiple signal pathways to ensure flower bud formation in the next year, but the molecular determinants of apple flower induction are still unknown. In this research, transcriptomic profiles from differentiating buds allowed us to identify genes potentially involved in signaling pathways that ...

Gentiana leucomelaena manifests dramatic flower color polymorphism, with both blue- and white-flowered individuals (pollinated by flies and bees) both within a population and on an individual plant. Previous studies of this species have shown that pollinator preference and flower temperature change as a function of flower color throughout the flowering season. However, few if any studies have e...

In animal-pollinated plants with unisexual flowers, sexual dimorphism in floral traits may be the consequence of pollinator-mediated selection. Experimental investigations of the effects of variation in flower size and floral display on pollinator visitation can provide insights into the evolution of floral dimorphism in dioecious plants. Here, we investigated pollinator responses to experiment...

An experiment was carried out using 20 native Dendrobium orchids in Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with three replications at the Orchidarium of Landscape, Ornamental and Floriculture Division, HRC, BARI, Gazipur during the period January 2007 to June 2007 to estimate genetic variability, genetic parameters and correlation coefficient among different flower components. Highly significant va...

The goal of this thesis is to design and build a system which automatically classifies an image of a flower for hundreds of flower species. The classification should be done within a reasonable time so that it is usable for a real-time computer vision application. The classification performance of the system is improved if only the flower region (foreground) of the image is considered, and the ...

Flower blooming is a critical and complicated plant developmental process in flowering plants. However, insufficient information is available about the complex network that regulates flower blooming in Jasminum sambac. In this study, we used the RNA-Seq platform to analyze the molecular regulation of flower blooming in J. sambac by comparing the transcript profiles at two flower developmental s...

Species flower production and flowering phenology vary from year to year due to extrinsic factors. Inter-annual variability in flowering patterns may have important consequences for attractiveness to pollinators, and ultimately, plant reproductive output. To understand the consequences of flowering pattern variability, a community approach is necessary because pollinator flower choice is highly...